Method of piling cloth



June 11, 1929. J. J, LYTH 1.71 .451 V METHOD OF FILING CLOTH Original Filed Feb. 21, -1919 3 Sheets-Sheet l F/ 6. h 2 five/1m" Ja/m J. L m9 I June 11, 1 929.

'METHoD OF FILING CLOTH Original Filed Feb. 21. 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. J. LYTH 1.716.451

June 11, 1929. J. J. LYTH 1,716,451 METHOD OF FILING CLOTH Original Filed Feb. 21, 1919 3 st t ysh t 3 50 firm/7hr 49 I Jab/7 J 1 5/ Patented June 11, 1929.

LJNTIiTEEF STATE "JOHN J. LYTH,' :OF'-V-ALDEYFIELD QUEBEC, CANADA.

'IMETHODOF FILING CLOTH.

Original application afiled :February 21, 1919, Serial lilo. 278,364. Divided and this applicationfiled March 2, 1925. Serial No. 12,624.

This invention relates broadly to improvements in the method of piling clotln-andmore particularly to the piling of cloth in circular kiers,'bins, vats or the like, and the object of the invention is to provide a method whereby cloth may be piled compactly and at high rate of speed in circular containers and in such a way that it may be removed without danger of snarling.

In a previous Patent, No.1,i03,126, granted the 10th day of Ja-nuary 1922, I have described a method of simultaneously transportingand impregnating cloth with bleaching or other fluid, and which consists briefly in passing the cloth in rope form through a conduit by means ofa current of impregnating fluid. In a previous application, Serial No. 278,364,filed 21st February 1919 (Patent No. 1,528,065, granted the 3rd day of March 1925) of which the presentapplication is a division, I have disclosed an apparatus adapted for piling cloth uniformly in circular containers. Thepresent invention-resides briefly in passing cloth through an oscillating or swinging directing means which is preferably a tubular conduit, the lineal speed of the cloth being greater than the lineal speed of the free end of the conduit-,with the result that a cloth rope in place of lying smoothly along the: path traced by the-conduitmouth is deposited in what'may-be described as a looped'or puckeredformation constituting a pile along the path traced-by the conduit mouth. In order to obtain the described results it has been found that the lineal speed of the cloth must-be at least twice the lineal speed ofthe conduit mouth. Theinvention further'resides in relativelyvarying the speed of the cloth-and'conduit so as =to vary the size'or number"of'theuloops andthe size of the pile resulting therefrom along the path traced by the conduit mouth. To facilitate the movement of cloth through the conduit a transporting fluid-is passed through the cone duit.

In order to obtaina'more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating one formof apparatus suitable for carrying out the method, andin which:

Fig. 1 isa plan view of the piling device.

Fig. 2 is:a vertical sectional view on the line 22, 'Figure '1.

Fig. 3 is an-elevation of the device-as'viewed from the left-hand sideof Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is asection on the line 4-4, Figure 3. I V Referring more particularly to the drawngs, 11 designates a base ring providedat ltS lnneredge with a palr of spaced upstanding flanges 12 which form bet-ween them a ball raceand also a guide for alargeyhorizontally disposedwornrwheel 13-which closes the central opening of the ring and'is held in position by a depending peripheral flange 14: which runs'between the flanges l2 uponxthe ball bearing 15. The worm wheel .13 is, rotated by means of a worm l6flxed ona shaft l7 gournalled in the casingi18, which is-in turn mounted on the ring 1 1 the shaft being securedtoa -shaftl26, one end of swhich is journalled in the "frame. 23' and the other -end in a pedestal .27 securedto theegear on "the opposite side of its centre. fromthe frame 23'. A bevel pinion 28 is rigidly secureidrtothe shaft 26 and meshes with a bevel gear :29 mounted on a stud 30 projecting upwardly from the pedestal'27. it heart-shaped cam 31 is rigidly secured'torthe gear 29 and 0perates a rack 32 by means of arol-ler 33carried by the rack andbearing against't-hefaceaof the cam. This rack is provided with-a slot 34; through which passesa pin135 projecting fromthe stud'30. The rack meshes with a pinion 36 rotatably mounted onzan extension 37 of the bracket 19. One end of the rack is supported byIthe-bracket extension 37 :an'dis .held in mesh with the pinion y36 byza-roller 38, while the other end of theme]: is supported on the cam. The rack is'held in predeterminedrelation tothe cam bythe'pin and the roller 38. In order to'keep ther0ller'33 against the face of the cam a spring 39-is secured between the rack and the bracket extension 37. The pinion 36 in turn meshes with an intermediate gear 40 which meshes with a gear 41 fixedly mounted on the upright tubular conduit section 42.

. A standard 43 is mounted in the centre of i the gear 13 and. carries at its upper end a cup 44, from the bottom of which a tubular conduit section leads in an inclined direction to a point over the upright conduit section 42 where it turns downwardly and passes into the enlarged upper end otthe section 42. The section 42 passes downwardly through the gear 13, being provided with athrust collar 46 resting on a ball bearing 47 carried by the gear 13. Below the gear 13 the conduit section 42 is rigidly connected to a further conduit section 48 which turns from a vertical to an inclined-direction. A. further section of conduit, designated 49, is slidably mounted on the inclined portion 01 the section 48 and terminates in a downwardly opening mouth 50. A gear toothed ring 51 is suspended from the gear 13 concentric with the upright conduit section 42. bracket 52 is provided on the conduit sec- A as.

tion 48 and supports a pinion 53 meshing with the ring gear 51. This pinion drives through meshed gears 54 a shaft 55 ournalled in the bracket 52 and extending transversely of theconduit section 42. Rigidly mounted 011 this shaft 55 on each side of the tube are pinions 56 which mesh with racks 57 connected to the conduit section 49. I

The cup 44 is provided below its edge with an outwardly projecting flange 58 having a groove 59 in the upper surface thereof concentric with the cup and centered in the axial line of the gear 13. A funnel 60 is secured to the upper edge of the cup and is provided at its bottom with an out-turned flange 61 having a groove 62 concentric with and directly above the groove 59. In the spaces between the flanges 58 and 61 a ring 63 is mounted having flanges 64 engaging in the grooves 59 and 62 to hold the ring concentrio with the cup. The inner diameter of this ring is somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the cup so that an annular space 65 is formed into which the cloth transporting fluid may be supplied through a pipe 66. Washers 67 U-shaped in cross section are mounted in the grooves 59 and62 to form fluid-tight joints between the'ring and its supporting flanges. Collars 68 are secured to the conduit sections 42 and 45. These collars are provided with annular spaces or channels 69151-0111 which ducts 70 lead into the conduit at acute angles to the axes of the sections and in a downward direction. Fluid is conveyed from the annular channels 65 to the channel 69 through flexible pipes 71. In order to enclose all the mechanism a hood T2 of approximately trustoconical form is connected to the casing 18 and is overlapped at its upper edge by a cape 73 carried by the flange 58.

The operation of the device is as follows 1- WVhen a kier or other circular container is to be filled, the piling mechanism is placed on theopen mouth of the kier, the lower end of opposite directions.

the conduit being inwardly swung for that purpose. The end of a rope of cloth that is to be fed into the kier is inserted through the tunnel 60 and cup 44 and worked down through the sections 45, 42, 48 and 49 of the conduit. This may be assisted by establishing current of the transporting or in1- pregnating fluid through the conduit. It

will be noticed from Figures 2 and 3 that the lower part of conduit extends below the ring 11 and into the kier. The device is set in operation by supplying power to operate the worm 16 which slowly rotates the gear cam reciprocates the rack 32, which in turn causes rotation of the gear 36 alternately in This motion is transmitted through the gears 40 and 41 to the conduit section 42 which is caused to rotate alternately in opposite directions. The proportioning of the gears is such that the conduit section 42,rotates approximately only revolution in each direction. This rotation orthe upright conduit section 42 causes the inclined sections 48 and 49 carried by it to sweep through the semi-circular path extending from a point under the mechanism to a point beyond the outer periphery thereof. As this motion occurs the bevel pinion 53 is rotated by reason of its engagement with the fixed ring gear 51 and communicates its motionto the rack 57 which is reciprocated and in turn reciprocates the conduit section 49 on the section 48.

The gears are so proportioned and the de vice so set that when the lower inclined conduit sections 48 and 49 are inclined toward the centre of the apparatus the section 49 is drawn up on the section 48 but when they sweep around so that they are directed away from the vertical axis of the machine the section 49 is thrust outwardly on the section 48. In other words, the conduit mouth 50 reaches further from its rotative centre, which is the axis of the upright section 42, when it is di- 'rected away from the central axis of the machine than when it is directed toward the central axis. The ob ect of this arrangementis to obtain a maximum sweep with a minimum distance between the axis of the conduit section 42 and the axis of the machine, which distance is fixed by the size of the kier mouth, the mouth being made as small as possible to facilitate tight sealing. It will be remembered that the gear 13 is constantly rotating at lower speed andthere'fore the conduit section 42-revolves about the centre of the gear 13 and so travels in a circular path at the same time that it rotates about its own axis.

Preferably the proportioning of the various .gears is such that the. gear 13 rotates several times while the upright conduit section 42 rotates through two half-revolutions,that is,

'whilethe'lower inclined conduit portion oscillates through one completecycle; say, from the kier centre to the wall'and back to the centre. As the conduit is also revolved bodily by the gear 13 it is evident that with the speed relation just outlined, the mouth of the conduit will trace an approximately spiral path. The cam 31 which causes oscillation of the conduitalso eausesthe angular speed of its oscillation or swinging motion to vary;

thespeed increasing as the mouth moves toward the kier centre or vertical axis of the machine, and vice versa. Since the revolution speed of the conduit is constant and the oscillation speed increases toward the centre, it follows'that the convolutions of the path are not'parallel as ina true spiral, but are increasingly spaced apart as the kier centre is approached. Since'the whole conduit revolves about the kier centre at uniform an- 'gular-speed, it follows that the lineal speed the kier owing to the decreasing lineal speed oft-he conduit mouth. This variation in the size of the cloth pile is compensated for by the variation in the spacing of the path convolutionswhich enables the larger pile toward the centre of the kier to be flattened out and expanded-radially of the kier by the weight of successive layers of cloth, with the result that the cloth is depositedin alayer which is ultimately of uniform thickness and occupying a'horizontal plane. Each time the con duit mouth travels from the centre to the circumference of the kier or vice versa, one layer of cloth is deposited, the thickness of each layer is several times the thickness of the cloth rope owing to the greater lineal speed of the cloth feed as compared to the lineal speed of the conduit mouth. To produce the desired piling of the cloth along the path the speed of the cloth feed must be at least twice the greatest lineal speed of the mouth and is preferably several times the mouth speed.

It will be understoodthat by proper variation of the gear ratios and consequently of theratio'of revolution to oscillation, the conduit mouth may be caused to trace any desired path between the approximately spiral path dcscribedanda substantially radial path.

In order to pass the cloth through the conduit with suflicient speed a current of fluid suchras water or bleachliquor is established through the conduit and serves to lubricate or float the cloth through the-conduit. :This

fluid may be'supplied under pressure orif'a SHfilClQnt volume is used may'beallowedzto flow merely by the action of gravlty. Wh1le a means has been provided for the introdue- F tion of the fluid at .a'plurality of points, it will be understood that the invention is not confined to the multipleintroduction of the fluid either at a plurality of points in the length of the conduit or at a plurality of points around the conduit as shown. If ia suliicient volume of liquid is used pressure may bedispensed with as already stated and the liquid maybe merely delivered into'the upper end of the conduit along with the cloth rope. lVhen a liquid is used the cloth becomes loaded with the liquid and pilesmuch more compactly than ispossible with hand piling or'where the cloth is substantially dry.

Ifsurplus liquid is drained out of'thekier sfi during the piling the cloth will be packed in course ofpiling to about the samedensity as ordinarily obtains after boiling. This dense filling largely-"or wholly obviatesdelaysf for cloth to settle and by the uniformity o'fifillingieo ensures evenbleaching and .freedom from kier stains. If the fluid used-ishot bleach liquor the boiling may becommenced as soon as the kier. is filled and'closed, thus eliminatmg delays usually necessary to 1mpregnate'95 the cloth with bleach liquor before'boiling is comn'ienced.

From the foregoing description :itwvill be seen that according to this invention cloth may be handledat a high rateiof speed-and piled'with uniform density iira kier or other container, thus enabling more cloth to be placed'in the-kier andby the elimination of hand piling enablingthe cloth to be impregnated with a bleach-liquor or the'like prior 1% to orduring its insertion in the kier, thus} shortening the time of passage. of the cloth through the bleachery and enabling any given size of equipment to handle a greatly increased tonnage of clotlrper month. The reg-' ularity of the piling effected according to this invention obviates overturned piles and snarling upon removahsuch :as often occurs with hand. piling.

vVhile the cloth directing means has been .115 shown and described as a tubular conduit the lower portion of which swings or oscillates in a horizontal plane, 1t will be understood thatthe invention may be carried out by means of other devices substituted fora tubular conduit to guide the cloth-and lay itin a bin or kier. andealso that the lower portion of the conduit OT'QqUIVEIlQHt; mechanism maybe arranged to swing or oscillate in a vertical or substantially vertical plane without departing from the spirit of the in vention and Without affecting the successful carrying out of the process. Y

.From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that the invention resides in the '130 container.

piling of cloth by conducting the cloth to a moving delivery point which is the conduit mouth 50, the lineal speed of the cloth passing through the delivery point being greater than the lineal speed of the moving delivery point, with the resultthat the cloth is deposited in a multitude of small loops which combine to form a pile along the path of the delivery point. It will also be seen that the be more than twice the highest lineal speed of the conduit mouth, that is, when the conduit is following the outermost convolution of its path, it will be understood that the devicewill operate quite efliciently with lower speeds of cloth feed, providing the lineal speed of the cloth feed is never less than the,

maximum lineal speed of the conduit mouth. Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim is 1. A method of piling roped cloth uni- :tormly over a circular surface, which consists in transporting cloth to a moving discharge point at a lineal speed at least twice the lineal speed of movement of the discharge point.

2. A method of piling cloth, which consists in transporting cloth to a discharge point, moving the discharge point at lineal speed increasing simultaneously with increase of the distance of the discharge point from the centre of the pile and vice versa, the cloth being transported at higher lineal speed than the speed of lineal movement of the discharge point.

3. Av method of piling roped cloth which consists inpassing the cloth through a movable conduit, and moving the conduit at such speed that its discharge end will travel at a lineal speed not more than half the lineal speed of passage of the cloth through the conduit, whereby the cloth will be deposited in a pile along the path traced by the discharge end of the conduit.

4. A method of piling cloth which comprises laying the cloth along an approximately spiral path, the convolutions of which are increasingly spaced apart toward the centre of the spiral.

5. A method of piling cloth which comprises laying the cloth along an approxi- 6. A method of piling cloth in a circular container, which comprises laylng the cloth .in loops in an approximately spi 'al pile, and

serving to load the cloth and sweep the same through the conduit at high lineal speed, and moving the discharge end of the conduit alternately toward and away from a central point, and simultaneously around such point.

8. A method of piling roped cloth which comprises passing the cloth through a movable conduit by means of a current of liquid serving to load the cloth and flow the same through the conduit at high lineal speed, and moving the conduit alternately toward and away from a central point andsimultaneously around such point, the angular speed of conduit movement being substantially uniform and the radial speed increasing toward such central point and decreas ing away from such central point, the total lineal speed of the conduit discharge end being less than half the lineal speed of cloth movement through the conduit.

9. A method of piling'roped cloth which comprises simultaneously loading cloth and conveying the same to and from a moving piling point by means of a stream of liquid,

and moving the discharge point alternately toward and away from a central point and simultaneously around such point, the an gular speed of the delivery point being constant and the radial speed progressively increasing toward the centre and decreasing away from the centre.

10. A method of piling roped cloth which comprises simultaneously loading cloth and conveying the same to and from a moving dis charge point by means of a stream of liquid,

and moving the discharge point alternately toward and away from a central point and simultaneously around such point, the lineal speed of the dischargepoint in the circumferential direction decreasing as it approaches the centre and increasing as it recedes from the centre, while at the same time its speed in the radial direction increases as it approaches the centre and decreases as it recedes from the centre.

11. A methodof piling roped cloth which comprises passing the cloth by means of a current of fluid through a directing device moving along a predetermined path over a mately spiral path,the convolutions of which, circular area, and depositing the cloth in are increasingly spaced apart toward the-centre of the spiral, the amount of cloth per unit length of the pile'being greater at the inner end of the path than at the outer end.

varying amount along said path by moving the directing device at lineal speed increasing from the centre to the periphery of'the piling area and vice versa.

12. A method of piling roped cloth which consists in passing the cloth through a movable conduit and moving the conduit in such manner that its discharge point travels around and simultaneously toward or away from a central point, the radial speed increasing and the circumferential speed decreasing as the discharge end of the conduit approaches the central point and vice versa.

13. A method of piling roped cloth, Which comprises passing the cloth through a moving conduit and moving the conduit in such manner that its discharge end travels repeatedly over substantially the entire surface of a circular piling area the lineal speed of the cloth being at all times greater than the total lineal speed of the discharge end of the con- JOHN J. LYTH. 

